The Energy Efficiency Taskforce has been established to devise a workplan to help reduce total UK energy demand by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030 across domestic and commercial buildings and industrial process.
The taskforce will have a focus on the role of the private sector and the stimulation of investment. Its priority areas of focus will include:
- stimulating the supply chain to address and increase investment, reduce skills gaps, accelerate pathways to accreditation, improve product manufacturing capability, and increase the wider availability of materials required to deliver high quality upgrades at pace
- identifying barriers and opportunities in existing market and regulatory frameworks to delivering the demand reduction ambition in a way that works for business, consumers and society in order to inform policy decisions
- increasing consumer, public sector, and business engagement in the delivery of existing and new initiatives on energy efficiency and clean heat. This may include addressing the lack of consumer take-up or behavioural change and high attrition rates
- working with the private sector to increase the availability of green finance linked to installation standards and quality
- tackling different installation challenges and embedding the need for standards across differently funded markets (considering recent tragedies highlighting the risks in domestic settings)
- working with DESNZ to gather, monitor and respond to data that shows progress towards the 15% demand reduction target
Responding to industry’s call for long-term funding certainty to help strengthen UK supply chains, £6 billion of government funding will be available from 2025 to support this objective, in addition to the £6.6 billion allocated this Parliament – taking the total to £12.6 billion this decade.
